Description

Originally released in the arcades as a laserdisc game, Dragon's Lair is an interactive cartoon movie. Players control Dirk the Daring as he struggles his way through a dungeon to fight Singe, the Dragon, and rescue the beautiful Princess Daphne. The game consists of animated scenes, during which the player has to press direction buttons or the sword button in the right moment to trigger the next segment of the movie.

Board Game

Budget

The game is said to have cost approximately $3 million to develop. Animator Don Bluth raised $1.2 million. Rich Dyer, the technology inventor and Cinematronics, the machine's manufacturer and distributor, raised the rest.

Cartoon

This game spawned a Saturday morning cartoon. Before commercial breaks, Dirk would be presented with several options, like jumping for a rope, standing and fighting some goons or taking a right down a tunnel. Upon return from the break the T.V. show would inform the viewer of the results of the various actions with the phrase, "If Dirk had done this..." and a clip showing the demise of the poor adventurer if he'd chosen the wrong path.

Ports

Dragon's Lair has been ported to nearly every single console/computer platform under the sun. From the IBM PC to the Amiga...from the NES to the Sega CD...even from the Jaguar CD to DVD players. Coleco Industries was the first to acquire the license for a home port in 1983. They paid $2 million for the home console rights and released the game for the Coleco Adam the following year.